La Baleine Restaurant Paris

This gourmet restaurant in Paris serves French cuisine in an idyllic setting within the Jardin des Plantes, which is open for lunch and afternoon tea, and certain evenings with reservations.

About La Baleine gourmet restaurant

La Baleine is located within an old pavilion on the edge of the Jardin des Plantes close to the Menagerie Zoo Historique de Paris, and when you translate the name to English it is The Whale, and the restaurant was named after the whale skeleton that was originally on display within the Galeries d’Anatomie Comparee et du Paleontology that is also in these gardens.

The old pavilion with its original architecture was dedicated to the preservation of cetaceans, which are marine animals including whales and dolphins, and today the crisp, elegant and modern decor of La Baleine carries this theme with large pictures and drawings of whales.

There are also two terraces that you can enjoy in the warmer months for a gourmet lunch or an afternoon tea, and one of these is a spacious courtyards area, whereas the other terrace on the sunny side of the Jardin des Plantes overlooks the Menagerie and the Wallabies.

When it comes to the French cuisine at this gourmet restaurant in Paris, you will find starters such as shrimp and crab meat served in a glass with an advocado mousse and alfalfa sprouts or a Caesar salad and marinated fried tuna with garlic bread, and these range in cost from around €7.50 up to €12 as of 2014.

Main courses at La Baleine could be fish and chips, a Charolais beefburger with cheese, bacon, tomatoes and rocket salad with chips, Goose confit with gravy, honey, mushrooms and garlic or Roasted salmon with courgette crumble accompanied by curry, cream or Lillet blanc, which is a type of aperitif wine, and these range in cost from around €17 up to €23 as of 2014.

Visiting the Baleine restaurant in Paris

Located within the botanical gardens in Paris of the Jardin des Plantes only a few steps from the Menagerie zoo, the Baleine restaurant is open for lunch and afternoon tea from noon until 3pm daily.

It is also open certain evenings of the week for a gourmet dinner experience, yet during the summer months, again this restaurant is open daily for an evening meal from 7pm through to 10pm, however, when we last checked reservations were required, so we would always recommend checking prior to just turning up.

But private functions can also be arranged, whether it be for a wedding, cocktail party, dinner for large groups, etc and for more information on these you would need to telephone +33 (0) 6 12 41 96 86.

Now, you will find Le Baleine restaurant in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris close to the River Seine and there is a Batobus water bus shuttle service dock nearby, but other forms of transport include the Gare d’Austerlitz train station in Paris that serves the RER via line C and the Metro via lines 5 and 10, or you have the Jussieu Metro stop via line 7.

The bus numbers 24, 57, 61, 63, 89 and 91 will also get you near to the Jardin des Plantes, but there are also the bus tours in Paris such as l’OpenTour that will get you close to the gardens and the restaurant.